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Wednesday, 31 July 2013

The attack on freedom of the press in NZ

There
is some discussion to the challenge to freedom of journalism in this
country because it concerns 'one of their own'.The only real coverage and anlysis of this issue has been done by Scoop. For this please GO HERE

It
comes on the back of Parliament's admission that Vance's movements
were also tracked as part of the Government's efforts to find the
"mole" who leaked her a report on the Government
Communications Security Bureau.

Fairfax
Media got wind something was up when Vance was hastily summoned to
the Speaker's office yesterday morning.

A
deeply embarrassed Carter owned up to the breach and offered Vance an
extraordinary apology.

Only
days ago, Carter gave Parliament an assurance that the phone records
were not handed over.

The
admission raises more questions than it answers - including why it
has taken so long for the truth to come out.

The
other burning question - on whose say-so was the information handed
over - has also gone unanswered.

In
the case of the phone records, Carter says that the information was
supplied by a low-level contractor without first checking with either
himself or Parliamentary Service general manager Geoff Thorn.

Carter
says he can't explain why it happened when apparently the inquiry -
headed by former public servant David Henry - never asked for Vance's
telephone records.

That
suggests either an extraordinarily cavalier attitude towards media
freedom, or a culture in which reporters are considered a fair target
for investigation.

The
latest, equally sinister, revelations that the Defence Force lumped
journalists in with subversives and extremists such as al Qaeda
suggest the latter.

That
should be deeply disturbing to everyone. Journalists working in the
parliamentary precinct deal regularly with sensitive information
provided by confidential sources.

Their
ability to hold MPs and the Government to account would be seriously
compromised if neither they nor their sources can have any faith that
their every move and phone call is not being tracked.

Call
for Speaker to act as watchdog on reporters' records

Fairfax
Media's political editor says decisions on Press Gallery journalists'
private information need to be made only by Parliament's Speaker, not
low-level bureaucrats.

The
Speaker of the House, David Carter, has personally apologised to
Fairfax Media's Andrea Vance after her phone records were released to
an inquiry looking into the leaking of a report about the Government
Communications Security Bureau.

Last
week, Mr Carter said the records were not handed over, but on Tuesday
said he had been made aware that a Parliamentary Service contractor
inadvertently provided three months' worth of Ms Vance's phone
records to Mr Henry.

The
political editor at Fairfax Media, Tracy Watkins, says the release
puts Press Gallery reporters' confidence in their own privacy at risk
and the handling of their information needs to be better managed.

"It
really cuts to the heart of our ability to operate around Parliament
and talk to MPs and bureaucrats as well and be confident that that's
not going to be somehow tracked for the purposes of finding out who
our sources are," she told Radio New Zealand's Morning Report
programme.

Ms
Watkins says there must be firm protocols and clear understanding
that decisions no records are made at a level lower than the Speaker.

"If
for instance we were asked would we ever hand over details that might
in any way compromise a source, we would never do that. So we need a
watchdog in place to make sure our rights are protected, and that
needs to be the Speaker, ultimately."

The
chair of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, Clare Trevett, says the
ability of journalists to do their job should be sacrosanct and says
she was shocked that the phone records were released.

Green
Party co-leader Russel Norman says the release of the journalist's
records, claims another journalist's phone calls were monitored by
the Defence Force and progress through Parliament of GCSB legislation
which could allow metadata to be collected on journalists amount to a
systematic attack on the media.

Dr
Norman says the committee needs to find out who in the Parliamentary
Service decided it was acceptable to release the phone records as
well as MP Peter Dunne's emails.

Deputy
leader of the Labour Party, Grant Robertson, told the House on
Tuesday the handing over of the phone records was a serious and
disgraceful action.

Prime
Minister John Key says the Government has enormous respect for the
fourth estate. He says he doesn't think journalists should be subject
to surveillance, and they are not.

Media
Freedom Committee chair Tim Murphy says the wider issue in the
release of phone records to the ministerial inquiry is that different
arms of the state seem to think they can get information any way they
wish. He says the fact a contractor decided to pass along the
records, which were not requested, defies rational belief.

Release
of journalist's emails condemned

The
release of a Press Gallery journalist's phone records to a top-level
inquiry has been roundly condemned in Parliament and by members of
the media.

Political
journalists discuss impact of phonelog leak

We're
joined by the Fairfax Media political editor, Tracy Watkins, and the
former TVNZ head of news and public relations consultant Bill
Ralston, who is also a former press gallery journalist.

Former PM Sir Geoffery Palmer comments

Greens
co-leader still confused over leak details

An
about turn by Parliament's Speaker on how a political reporter's
phone records were given to a prime ministerial inquiry seems to have
only added to confusion over the chain of events.

Revelations
that the Henry inquiry, acting on John Key’s mandate, obtained a
journalist’s phone records highlight a culture where private
information is public under the National Government, the Green Party
said today.

In
response to Green Party written questions Speaker David Carter has
revealed that journalist Andrea Vance’s telephone records were
given to the John Key-mandated Henry inquiry.

“It’s
a dark day for democracy when a journalist’s phone records can be
secretly taken and given without her permission to an inquiry acting
under the Prime Minister’s authority,” Green Party Co-leader
Russel Norman said today.

“In
response to my written questions Speaker David Carter has admitted
previous answers he provided to me were wrong. Mr Carter previously
said the Henry inquiry sought Ms Vance’s email records but now Mr
Carter says that was incorrect and instead the inquiry was provided
the records unprompted.

“We
need to know who took it upon themselves to offer up that information
and I am sure the Privileges Committee will look at it.

“The
reality is that there is a culture that has developed under this
Prime Minister where rules and rights are treated as expendable.

“Further
Green Party written questions, which we are releasing today, show
that Parliamentary Service released then United Future leader Peter
Dunne’s email records to the Henry inquiry without his permission
on the basis of an email from John Key’s chief of staff Wayne
Eagleson.

“When
the PM’s office said ‘jump’ Parliamentary Service said ‘how
high?’ It is clear Parliamentary Service felt pressured by the PM’s
office to comply.

"We
are seeing a pattern of anti-democratic and menacing behaviour by the
Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's office that is alarming,"
Dr Norman said.

“Journalists
will condemn in the strongest terms the open assault on media freedom
represented by the seizure of a Dominion Post reporter's phone
records. Members of the Kiwi Journalists Association Facebook page
(which is restricted to present and former professional journalists)
can add their support to this condemnation by 'liking' this post. The
result will be forwarded to the New Zealand Government.”